after ice out for crappy tec

[WISH IT WAS YOU]

well now that the ice is coming to a end what are your fav ways to hook on to crappy right after ice out

mine will have to be fishing berlin in the 10-15 ft range still fishing with minnows whats yours

[sowbelly101]

Fishing shallow on brush and wood. Couple spots I like to fish we find the bigguns reel shallow on the days the water is warming, staind to muddy waters. When I say shallow Im talking 3 feet or less, small pink or chartruese jigs fished on a long pole pegged about 18" or so down.

Sowbelly

[steelheadBob]

I fish berlin right after iceout in the beginning of mill creek, find them in 15-20 feet of water before the creeks warm up, i use minnows under slip or 1/32 minnie foo jigs in yellow or hot pink with a small minnow(jigging)

[Big Daddy]

Fishing deeper fish on live bait... Slip bobber/minnow combos... By the end of March, I'll be going shallow wood...

[fishslim]

the lake i seen to many pictures of those pigs this time i am jumping on board for a good learning lesson. Got my pole ready Sow lets go!!:D I also like to hit deep water early but will tube jig some shallow with lots of trash early it can suprise you how many big ones sneak in there earlier then you might think!!;)

[sowbelly101]

For some reason I find on some bodies of water the fish will move in right after the ice, then they move back out. The problem is when they move back out cause my mind is to set on the shallow bites. Maybe I can get a little help with that this year!!!

Sowbelly

[steelheadBob]

hey sowbelly, ive learned on the lakes with the shallow creek arms, the crappie will move up them faster because they warm better and faster....Just my 2 cents, when the sun is in its highest, ive caught more crappie in the creeks, and in the late evening, ill move down to the deeper water where the arm heads out into the lake, u can do good when they head out of the arms, but like big daddy said, at the end of march is when to start fishing shallow. Heres a trick my pops showed me,Start looking for flying insects, when u start seeing them, thats when the crappie fishing gets good!!!

[papaperch]

Steelheadbob's dad gave him some very sound advice. Flying insects often surface hatch and emerge on standing brush to dry until capabale of flight.

The crappies movement into shallow brush is an insect pattern not a minnow pattern. The will readily hit a minnow no doubt but the shallow movement is to take advantage of the emerging insect life. Usually the warmer early spring days bring on heavier hatches and heavier crappie movements.

I remember one day on the north end of skeeter. I was wading the brush on the north end and you could actually see some of their dorsal fins cutting the surface of the water. felt like I was surrounded by a bunch of " sharks ".

I fished six inches deep that day and had a blast till I ran out of minnows.

[steelheadBob]

Hey Papaperch, i wade the north end for crappies all the time. Give me a crapload of willow and ill dive right in.

[Nightprowler]

I've read that crappie move shallow, right after ice out, following the shad/minnow forage, and has nothing to do with spawning......yet.

[JimmyZ]

Does it matter what the outside temps. are. I was hoping to get out this weekend but hard to do when it's 20 in the morning. May give it a try in the afternoon after it warms a bit. I've never started fishing for crappie right after ice out but I think I'm going to leave the walleye in the river alone this year for the most part and focus on crappie.

[steelheadBob]

Hey JimmyZ, after ice out, focus on the mouths of the creeks on the lakes say 10 -15 foot range. Like Mill creek at berlin or the feeder arms at westbranch.. Ive found that i find the crappies stacking up at the mouths like that just like steelhead, when the water warms during the day, they run up the creeks and back out when the water's cool until spawn time. Just my 2 cents.

[kernal83]

What type of insects do they typically feed on during the early spawn? Are their any particular fly patterns/lures that you guys use to imitate these insects? I had read somewhere that dragonfly and dameselfly nymphs are good choices, any opinions?